Orbitz & Expedia ~ BEWARE!

[TammyWright]

Before i opened my travel agency, i used to use orbitz and expedia for the ease and cheap rates. but i had 1 incident and that was enough for me (they tried to charge me $300 cancellation fee for a trip i had booked 2 minutes earlier because something went wonky on their site and my dates changed)...also, i read on tripadvisor that rates booked via orbitz and expedia are not guaranteed...meaning if you book at a resort like dreams and they overbook (this happens ALL THE TIME) the orbitz/expedia customers are the first ones bounced to another hotel.

 

i don't like to usually do this but thought everyone should be aware of some of their practices and be sure to read the fine print. here are some examples of their problems.

 

these complaints are on a consumer site and tripadvisor

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Orbitz Complaint

 

Hotel - hotel reservation

Posted By: turnhob on 7/31/2006

 

I booked a 2 night stay a month in advance. The charge($227.33) was billed to my credit card when booked. When I arrived at the hotel I said the bill was paid. The hotel said Orbitz doesn't do that and insisted that I pay again. Since I didn't have my credit card bill with me I had to pay again ($173.60). When I returned home and called Orbitz they informed me that they would refund the hotel charge (which was on another credit card) not their charge of $227.33. Their policy is not a guarantee on the lowest price. When I complaineed that I felt that this was deceptive, they hung up on me. When I called my credit card company to complain they said no credit was issued since my call to Orbitz 24 hours before.

 

Never again Orbitz! - Vacation Packages

Posted By: Mai on 4/12/2006

 

Location: CA

 

A few weeks back, I booked 4 vacation packages with Orbitz because a friend had suggested that they are a big company and it is safer to go through them.

 

After looking through my email to check my itinerary, I found that the sales agent who took my order over the phone had spelled my name wrong as well as one of the other passenger's. I immediately called Orbitz and was put on hold for more than one hour before I got a response from their package department's customer service. The guy who was helping me said that he had to resolve it with the airlines first and would give me a call back the next day. I waited three days before I called back and when I did, I was placed on hold for about 45 minutes before I could speak to someone. I eventually asked to speak with the supervisor since the second customer service person didn't have any authority to make any changes. I was placed on hold another 15 minutes before a supervisor came on to speak with me. He was rude and didn't want to help me at all, although it was their mistake. He said that there was no notes in the system that verified that I had placed the order on the phone, so they will not waive the $100 fee to change the name on my airline tickets. I argued that it was not my mistake and that they had to take care of that fee with Alaska Airlines. He said he would contact the corporate office because it was out of his hands and would get back to me the next afternoon. I waited and still there was no phone call so I called them back. After being put on hold for about 45 minutes, they hung up on me. I called back, was on hold for another 30 minutes, got transfered 3 times (this is normal for them...they transfered me all over the place each time I called). Finally, he got on the phone and told me that the corporate office had not gotten back to him and that he would call me back the next day.

 

I decided to give him another chance. I finally had to call my credit card to dispute it because he never called me back. I decided to call him just to see if he did anything at all. I ended up speaking with very nice lady (who shouldn't even be working for a ridiculous company like orbitz) and she was able to help me in 15 minutes. She researched and found that I did placed the order over the phone with them and that they did screw up on my name and one of the other passenger's names. She advised me to call Alaska Airlines myself (which was another nightmare because I was on the phone with them for another 1 1/2 hours because of a 45 minute hold and 20 minute name change process per name) and that they will reimburse me the $100 as soon as I fax them the receipt. This whole process has been a nightmare. I will never book through them again.

 

 

Horrible Customer Service, Horrible Everything! - Vacation Package to Orlando

Posted By: Heidelind on 10/13/2004

 

I had booked 4 vacation packages to Orlando, Fl. Because of the hurricane I wanted to cancel, or reschedule. OH MY GOD!!! This all happend Sep 2, I am STILL trying to get that straightend out and its Oct 13! I was supposed to get refunded for the hotel (because they closed), this has still not happend! (It only took them 1 day to charge my credit card however!) I was also supposed to get refunded for 2 of the tickets because 2 of the passengers are military and going back oversees.

 

Although I was told that with proper documentation I could get a refund, I'm still getting the run around on that! And as for the 2 tickets I wanted to reschedule...UNBELIEVABLE! First I'm told I have till midnight to reschedule and there won't be any charges, then I'm told I can't reschedule at all, then I'm told I have 30 days to reschedule but only for specific flights and I have to go thrue the airline itself (), so I call them and they tell me Orbitz cancelled my flight all together and I'm just out of luck! I call Orbitz back and they have no idea whats going on and want me to call the airlines back and work it out with them. At this point I insist that Orbitz call them. That finally got worked out, but it was unbelievably ridiculous. I will NEVER use Orbitz again! I don't care how cheap they, they just SUCK!

 

Expedia.com Complaint

 

Expedia Fails to Deliver - Vacation Package

Posted By: ChancesRRR on 7/25/2005

 

Location: Chicago, IL

 

My wife and I booked a vacation package to Las Vegas on Expedia on 5/5/05 and received a confirmation itinerary by email on 5/6/05.

 

When we arrived at the airport on 7/22/05 we were informed that the airline, United, did not have us in their system. A call to Expedia and a 30 minute hold resulted in being told that, although they had our vacation package in the system it was never completed. We were leaving to attend a wedding on Saturday 7/23/05 and planned to vacation until our return on 7/26/05. The Expedia customer service representative told us it was our fault for not checking the trip status on a regular basis and offered no help or sympathy. The trip included air fare from Chicago ORD, lodging at the Billaigo, and a Hertz rental for approximately $1550. The United representative told us we could purchase tickets at a cost of $785 each but we would have to take care of our own lodging and car rental. Based on the cost of airfare and uncertainty of lodging we returned home. We checked the Expedia web site and found our itinerary but now it had a note saying the trip was changed and we were to call Expedia. We called Expedia customer service again and the response was similar to the one at the airport – Sorry your problem, your credit card was not billed so you lost nothing, we can’t help. When we pressed to talk to a supervisor we were transferred and explained our story. She was unable to explain why our trip was not processed but did say there was a glitch within 5 minutes of processing our credit card on 5/5/05. When we asked why we received an itinerary with airline flight information, hotel information and car rental information the next day she was at a loss to explain. When asked why we were not informed of any problems since they had our email and phone number, she again was at a loss for words.

 

We offered to fax a copy of our confirmed itinerary showing the detail information but she was not interested. We asked her to fax a copy of any information they may have sent telling us there was a problem and although she agreed we have not received a fax.

 

Only after using the word “lawyer” did she offer to find us another package. The new package included airfare on America West & lodging at the Renaissance for $1905, a Hertz rental was another $299. When we complained she offered a $200 coupon of the airfare/hotel package. We had planned this trip for months. The son of my wife’s best friend was getting married and attending was important to her. When we booked the trip the package for the Renaissance was $1000, we decided to spend the extra to make this a special vacation. We even booked two shows and paid $346 for non-refundable tickets. Expedia is so big they just don’t care, I hope others read this and save themselves the disappointment we have had with Expedia and its employees.

This is the reply we received from Expedia after we emailed this complaint.

 

"Thank you for contacting Expedia.com regarding your unconfirmed itinerary.

 

Unfortunately, the itinerary requested was not confirmed and hence, the purchase was unsuccessful. Please note that your credit card was not charged for the transaction. Each time a member supplies credit card information, the Expedia.com system validates the credit card number, cardholder’s name, and billing address. At the time of purchase, Expedia.com also notifies the card issuer of the purchase.

 

Unfortunately, we are unable to process your request for a refund of your show ticket and cab fare. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused you and would like to assure you that every reservation is important to us."

 

 

 

Expedia is a FRAUD - vacation package insurance

Posted By: neggie on 8/17/2006

 

I just recently booked a trip for my parents and their cousin (another couple) for Hawaii. They asked me to get them a vaction insurance in case anything happenned and they had to cancel.

 

As it turned out the father of one the passengers (my dad's cousin) passed on and the vacation had to be cancelled. Well I called expedia thinking that I can get fully reimbursed as I was lead to believe on the site. However unfortunately I was told otherwise. In the expedia webpage they mislead you and make you believe that when you buy the insurance you get your full money back, while in practice they only give you credit (up to one year) for the airline and only refund the hotel portion. My pleas to talk to managers and trying to explain the situation fell on deaf ears. The most I could get is they would reimburse only the money for the ticket of one of the passengers (the one whose father died) providing she could provide a death certificate (never mind that the guy passed on half a world away and the certificate would be in another langauge). I am so angry. What does expedia expect? Do they want the husband of the woman who has just lost her father half a world away to go on the vacation without her while she is grieving for her father or just get credit?. What about the other couple? Does expedia expect them to go on even though they are all related to each other and this is a family situation?? Especially considering they had bought insurance just in case this happenned. Expedia misleads its clients and lies to them. It gets even worse. When you are about to pay for your package expedia says you can "divide the cost" between two credit cards. Wouldnt that mean that the cost would be split in the middle?? Ofcourse what they never tell you is that the cost of the hotel is charged to one party's credit card and the other is charged for airfare which means one party gets reimbursed while the other party gets credit for 4 airiine tickets and no refund.

 

Expedia is a fraud and the public should be educated about its lies.

 

 

FACTS about EXPEDIA (with a lot of evidence of their lies) - SCAM

Posted By: Doe3001 on 5/8/2006

 

See overwhelming evidence that EXPEDIA lies, cheat, ignore customers that complains about EXPEDIA poor customer support, use false advertisement, attempt to commit fraud and more….Please read my case at my3cents. Just searh for "expedia".

 

For space reason I had to build a site specially devoted to EXPEDIA:

http://www.victimsofexpedia.com

 

Feel free to ask EXPEDIA is some of the information I put there is wrong. I asked them but EXPEDIA never responded to me.

 

It seems that people are complaining less about EXPEDIA. Is it because EXPEDIA is improving its service or because people are using other travel agencies?

 

 

EXPEDIA (also hotels.com) in the news - EXPEDIA again

Posted By: Doe3001 on 5/24/2006

 

I just saw a video apparently by Atlanta's Fox news telling a horrible story about a family that had a nightmare after booking a room through EXPEDIA.

 

The video is available at a this site:

http://www.shameonexpedia.com/

 

I also put a link of this video in my web site: http://www.victimsofexpedia.com

 

Good luck travellers

[KARLA]

Tammy,

 

Thanks for posting stuff like this! I tried to encourage all of our guests to not book through Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc... On tripadvisor there were many times that people wrote a complaint that even thought they had booked at X Pueblo Bonito Resort, they were given a check in for Y Pueblo Bonito Resort. Not a big deal if you are going from the Rose to the Pacifica which is nicer, but it is going to be a big deal if it is for a wedding, ect... Of course, some people still booked thru those sites... but what can you do?

[Jackie]

Good information, thanks. Have you ever heard anything about all-inclusive.com or allinclusiveoutlites.com I believe their the same company but they seem to have the cheapest prices and I was planning on telling my guests to go through them. However I'm a little weary because Ive never dealt with them before.

Also just on a side note. We are members of BJ's (which cost $30.00 per year) and they seem to have decent package prices on their vacations via their website. Pretty much on the same line as Felines basement.

Thanks

Jackie

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KARLA Tammy, Thanks for posting stuff like this! I tried to encourage all of our guests to not book through Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, etc... On tripadvisor there were many times that people wrote a complaint that even thought they had booked at X Pueblo Bonito Resort, they were given a check in for Y Pueblo Bonito Resort. Not a big deal if you are going from the Rose to the Pacifica which is nicer, but it is going to be a big deal if it is for a wedding, ect... Of course, some people still booked thru those sites... but what can you do?

you just have to let your guests do what they want...i remember reading on tripadvisors that a wedding booked at dreams and half the group was sent to riu which is a nice resort but just a bummer if you want to stay together...

also, i was at a TA convention and alot of the bigger hotels do admit that they give those rooms(expedia, orbitz, hotels) lowest priority. meaning they are the last to get upgrades and the first to get the boot if they are overbooked. same thing with flights...if you book via a discount brokerage you usually don't get the upgrade if one becomes available.

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryjaxs19 Good information, thanks. Have you ever heard anything about all-inclusive.com or allinclusiveoutlites.com I believe their the same company but they seem to have the cheapest prices and I was planning on telling my guests to go through them. However I'm a little weary because Ive never dealt with them before. Also just on a side note. We are members of BJ's (which cost $30.00 per year) and they seem to have decent package prices on their vacations via their website. Pretty much on the same line as Felines basement. Thanks Jackie

i think all companies have the same resources, just some get a little better deal by volume or personal relationship with hotels...like i can get some fanatastic deals on dreams, riu, inter-continental, hilton but just ok at cabo surf so i dont even bother because bride can do the same on their own.

also, i just went to all-inclusive.com and their rates are not that great...for a 7-night stay at dreams in may they are quoting $215 per person/per night. my rates are $160-165 per person/per night.

[Jackie]

Wow those are great prices. Does your company also include or provide airfare from Boston/Logan or Rhode Island/TF Green? I tried to go onto your website but I was having trouble navigating through and getting Riu or the Dreams resorts to come up.

Thanks

Jackie

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryjaxs19 Wow those are great prices. Does your company also include or provide airfare from Boston/Logan or Rhode Island/TF Green? I tried to go onto your website but I was having trouble navigating through and getting Riu or the Dreams resorts to come up. Thanks Jackie

that webiste is not for groups...best to just call or email me...we help find air as well...you can email me via the forum (PM above) or at [email protected]

[Jackie]

I'll have to do that when we get closer to the actual date. These days I'm just getting 2007 quotes to give me a rough idea of ours and our guests expenditure. I don't think any 2008 flights for May are anywhere near being out yet. Ha Ha there goes my pre-planning craziness rearing up again.

Jackie

[gkashmira]

Jackie are you in RI? I grew up there

 

Also I have to admit that for work I book travel with Expedia and Orbitz constantly. Honestly we have never had a problem with any of our flights or hotels or rental cars and we travel all over the world. One thing that I do think makes a difference however is when you're a frequent traveler you have accounts with all these airlines and hotels, and when you book online they get this information anyway. So the director I work with always get upgraded in the hotels and sometimes on the flights just because she travels with these guys so often.

 

Anyway, I certianly believe people have had problems I just have had a really good experience over the years using these guys. They've even let me cancel penalty-free non-refundable airline tickets (but I booked them and then cancelled them in about 20 minutes...)

 

Just a thought...

 

However what I do often do is look stuff up on Orbitz and then go to the hotelairline directly to see if I can get a better price (sometimes you can and sometimes you can't)

[TOESNTHESND]

This thread is freaking me out! I have always used Expedia and never had a problem with them. All of my friends use them as well and have never had a problem either. It's good to be aware....